Insulins for the long term management of diabetes mellitus in dogs: a review

• Published in: Canine medicine and genetics Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 1 - 11
• Main Authors: Shiel, Robert E, Mooney, Carmel T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 14-02-2022; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Amino acids; Antibodies; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes therapy; Dogs; Genetic engineering; Health aspects; Hypoglycemia; Hypoglycemic agents; Insulin; Licenses; Ligands; Metabolism; Peptides; Pharmacology; Proteins; Review; Zinc; Pharmacology; Insulin; Diabetes mellitus; Dogs
• ISSN: 2662-9380; 2662-9380
• DOI: 10.1186/s40575-022-00114-9

The year 2021 marked the centenary of the isolation of a therapeutic form of insulin and its successful use in dogs. This was a landmark moment that subsequently and rapidly led to the commercial manufacture of insulin for use in humans. The impact of insulin was almost miraculous as those destined to die from their diabetes mellitus returned to life. Over the past 100 years, insulin formulations have been modified to attempt to provide a predictable and prolonged duration of action while avoiding the development of hypoglycaemia. This has led to an ever-growing variety of insulin types in human medicine, many of which have subsequently been used in dogs. The purpose of this review article is to provide an overview of available insulin types and their application to the chronic management of canine diabetes mellitus.